Gordon, Jr. (Walter L. )/Beverly, Jr. (William C.) collection, 1940s

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Summary

Title:
Walter L. Gordon, Jr./William C. Beverly, Jr. collection
Dates:
1940s
Abstract:
Collection of approximately 800 digitized photographs and other items collected by Walter L. Gordon, Jr. and given to William C. Beverly, Jr., who donated the collection to UCLA. Collection includes photos given to Walter by his former boss, Charlotta Bass, publisher of the California Eagle, as well as other photos he collected. Photos largely depict African American social life and family life in 1940s Los Angeles and feature celebrities, athletes, politicians, lawyers, and other notable people of the era.
Extent:
2.5 Linear Feet (5 boxes and 3 oversized flat boxes)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Walter L. Gordon, Jr./William C. Beverly, Jr. Collection (Collection 2270). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Materials include photographs given to Mr. Gordon by California Eagle newspaper publisher Charlotta Bass; photos Mr. Gordon collected of images of black resorts such as Val Verde; well-known political figures; sophisticated night life and social club functions; performing artists such as Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. Mr. Gordon established his law practice in 1936; he retired in 2004, after nearly seventy years practicing law.

Biographical / historical:

The approximately 800 photographs in this collection represent the lifelong interest of Los Angeles African American attorney, Walter L. Gordon, in documenting little known aspects of African American history and culture through the first half the 20th century. Los Angeles and the legal profession were plagued by racial discrimination, but these photographs display a range of people, places and institutions who successfully defied society's limited expectations.

In 2002, the entire collection was given to William C. Beverly, Jr., who loaned them to Eighth & Wall (an organization promoting the preservation of the history of the African American community of Los Angeles). In 2010, the collection was donated to UCLA. More information about Eighth & Wall is available here: http://www.eighthandwall.org

Acquisition information:
Gift of Walter L. Gordon and William C. Beverly.
Processing information:

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.

Physical location:
Held at UCLA Library Special Collections. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by UCLA Library Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-09-02 13:57:42 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Walter L. Gordon, Jr./William C. Beverly, Jr. Collection (Collection 2270). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website